As reported by the Berliner Zeitung, an au pair from Germany was refused entry to the US. The 19-year old wanted to visit her relatives and take a vacation in the United States for 4 months.
The problem: The young la
dy messaged her second cousin via Facebook and mentioned, that she could look after the kids and even drive them to school, because she has a valid driver’s license. The US immigration department had access to this chat history.
After the passport control the German girl was led to a room, where officers interrogated her, inspected her luggage, took away her cell phone. Because of the messages, she was accused of wanting to enter the country as an illegal Au Pair.
Without the right visa, which the 19- year didn’t have, the stay in the US is illegal. Only the ones with J1-Visa, which can only be issued by offical agencies and organizations, are allowed to stay in the United States as an au pair for a period of 12- 24 months.
Hours and lots of questions later, the young German still wasn’t allowed to enter the country and visit her relatives. She didn’t have the right visa for the stay, and because of that, she was sent back to Germany.
Not only the entry requirements in the US are the strictest world wide, but also the au pair program is precisely regulated. If you want to go to the US as an au pair, you need to fulfill specific requirements, that need to be checked by authorized agencies.
You can find out more about the regulations and the Au Pair Programm of the US.
This post is also available in: German
